Needs must
by Frontline
Summary: When Tails is nearly killed by a demon, he and Mighty must work together to track it down...


**All characters and concepts are the property of their respective creators. No copyright infringement is intended, or profit made from this work of fiction.**

Tails' head whipped round as the shriek cut through the air like a knife, a pale, shadowy creature bounding from out of the ruins. It flickered and changed like smoke, two white eyes burning in the middle of it's head. With a hiss, it crouched to leap and Tails launched himself towards it, spinning his twin tails that gave him his nickname for a boost of speed, his feet slamming into the creature's head. It roared in pain, swinging round to strike him with it's other hand, sending him sailing backwards to crash into the ground. Shaking his head, Tails struggled to his feet as the creature lunged towards him and he tried to dodge, knowing that he would be too slow. Then, from out of nowhere, a black figure with a red shell appeared, his fist slamming the creature to the ground and he landed lightly in front of it. With a growl, the creature sprang to it's feet and bounded away into the darkness.

'Thanks for your help,' Tails said, shakily getting back to his feet. 'I'm Tails...'

'...Mighty the Armadillo,' the stranger said, turning away and folding his arms across his chest. 'And I didn't do it for you...'

'...okay,' Tails said, reaching into his backpack and pulling out his hand scanner.

'What are you doing?' Mighty asked as he turned in a slow circle, not taking his eyes off the screen.

'Seeing if I can track it's energy signature. Whatever that was, it wasn't organic, so it has to be an energy construct of some kind. If I can isolate it's frequency, I can track it...'

'You should leave it to me, kid...'

'I can handle it...'

'This isn't about you. I've been hired to find this thing and I'm not going to sit back while someone else does my job for me...'

'...right...'

##################

'This is it,' Tails said, stopping outside a heavy stone door that blocked their path. 'The energy signature comes from in here...'

'How?' Mighty asking, rapping his knuckles on the door. 'There's no way that it could get through this...'

'It's semi non-corporeal...' Tails said, stopping when he saw Mighty's expression. 'It can walk through walls. But, we can't. We need to get through here...'

'Leave it to me,' Mighty said, stepping forward and placing both hands against the door, flexing his muscles with a grunt of effort. The door resisted for a few seconds and them gave way with a sharp crack as it split in two.

'Impressive,' Tails said, stepping over the rubble into the room, followed by Mighty. Inside, the room was empty, except for a large, square crystal that was set into the back wall.

'What is this place?' Mighty asked and Tails looked around.

'Not sure...' he said, as his scanner beeped. 'Uh-oh...'

'What?'

'Energy readings are spiking. I think it's coming...'

'Wrong,' Mighty said, turning towards the door. 'It's here...'

With a roar, the creature shot through the door and Tails leapt towards it, driving it backwards with a spinning kick. Dodging it's claws, he landed in a crouch as Mighty charged towards it. He landed several blows before it's fist struck him on the jaw and lifted him off his feet.

'Mighty!' Tails yelled, somersaulting forwards to sweep it's legs from under it, kicking out towards it's head. Faster than he expected, it's hand shot out and grabbed him around the neck.

Mighty charged towards it, drawing his fist back for another punch, just as it's hand slammed him into the wall.

'Destroy...the crystal...' Tails gasped and Mighty staggered to his feet.

'What?'

'The crystal...destroy it...' He managed and Mighty grabbed a rock from the floor, heaving it towards the crystal, which shattered with a dull crack. The creature roared in pain, dropping Tails to the floor and it vanished with a flash of light. Above them, the crystal was glowing, a harsh whine filling the room.

'Get down,' Tails yelled, throwing himself flat just as the crystal exploded. When the dust cleared, he looked up to see that the blast has brought the ceiling down. Of Mighty, there was no sign.

'Mighty!' Tails yelled, scrambling to his feet, frantically digging through the rubble and there was a groan as he heaved a rock of Mighty.

'Mighty!' Tails repeated. 'Are you alright?'

'...yeah.' Mighty said, rolling over and sitting up, holding his head. 'What happened? Did we win?'

'Yeah,' Tails said. 'Come on, let's get out of here...'

##################

'What's this?' Tails asked, taking the card that Mighty handed him.

'You're pretty good in a fight. If you ever need any help, call us...'

With that, he turned and walked away, Tails looking down at the card.

 _The Chaotix Crew, huh..._

 **Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Any comments, reviews or constructive criticisms very welcome.**


End file.
